to win it all in most polls or discussions I've seen because of the typical, overall anti-Seahawks league sentiment (and pro-49er sentiment), or are the 9ers actually superior to us? I look at both teams, whilst trying to keep my bias neutral (hard, I know), but when I compare us side to side, I just don't see it. I think Kaepernick will be exposed as way overrated, and I just think we're overstacked right now on both sides of the ball in an obvious Super bowl run attempt by our front office. They're going for it, hell be damned! So much will be answered and established in Week 2 at the Clink in the game of games. I think much more will be answered at the end of the season in SF. This season can't frickin' start soon enough! I actually start to physically shake in anticipation of this upcoming season. That hasn't ever happened to me since 1984! Only two months 'till training camp my friends!

"Marshawn Lynch does not run. He Rumbles. And he shook the ground with a perfect '10' on the Beast-quake Scale"NFL Films on 24 yard TD run in NFCCG vs Packers

Smelly McUgly wrote:Well, they did make the Super Bowl last year and return most of their guys.

I think my impression of them has almost everything to do with how we just cremated them at the Clink last season. We humiliated them. I just don't see how, with the improvements to our pass rush, along with our offensive upgrades that they can overcome our superiority. I would be impressed if they beat us in week 2...

"Marshawn Lynch does not run. He Rumbles. And he shook the ground with a perfect '10' on the Beast-quake Scale"NFL Films on 24 yard TD run in NFCCG vs Packers

Smelly McUgly wrote:Well, they did make the Super Bowl last year and return most of their guys.

I think my impression of them has almost everything to do with how we just cremated them at the Clink last season. We humiliated them. I just don't see how, with the improvements to our pass rush, along with our offensive upgrades that they can overcome our superiority. I would be impressed if they beat us in week 2...

And then they won 2 playoff games and almost the Super bowl. This place needs to start giving that team some credit. Forget about how their fans act and be reasonable.

Smelly McUgly wrote:Well, they did make the Super Bowl last year and return most of their guys.

I think my impression of them has almost everything to do with how we just cremated them at the Clink last season. We humiliated them. I just don't see how, with the improvements to our pass rush, along with our offensive upgrades that they can overcome our superiority. I would be impressed if they beat us in week 2...

And then they won 2 playoff games and almost the Super bowl. This place needs to start giving that team some credit. Forget about how their fans act and be reasonable.

Yeah, considering that they did play in the Super Bowl last year, I think that automatically makes them the team to beat... as much as it sucks saying that.

You don't need to like the Niners. You don't need to say that they're better against us straight up. Fact remains that they were in the Superbowl last year and are returning just about everyone from their run. You expect everyone to jump on the Hawks bandwagon because of one game last year at home? Lets do that to them in SF and that will change a few midns.

I don't know who OP is reading or watching. There are talking heads saying we are the team to beat, and there are those who pick the Niners. Pretty balanced IMHO.

I agree with BT.Yes, last year the bad guys were in the SB and we weren't.Put simply, they (the bad guys) match up just a little better against Atlanta than we do, but we matchup better against SF than Atlanta does.Once Justin Smith went down, their D gave up 30+ the final third of the season. For SF to be successful on D it requires a healthy and effective J Smith.We went 7-1 in the second half last year. In that span we demolished some teams incl SF.They are a very tough team, but I like our match ups.

Until we win the division back from them I have zero problem with them being called the pre-season favorites. We beat them by more then any other team did last year, I'm sure that won't be lost on them during the next go around. Luckily that next one is our home opener, and actually works out good for us IMO.

Towards the end of the year our run defense was starting to look poor. We demolished the Niners @ the Clink but in fairness they were missing Smith and lost V. Davis early on. Also this year CK may actually not underestimate playing in the clink and work on silent counts better with his team. Anyway, the way the Niners played despite their loss to us, with a large majority of their team returning. Why wouldn't they be seen as SB favs?

We got a pretty new stacked line up, but lets not forget even with Harvin some new team Chemistry needs to be built. We have no idea what is going to happen with Lynch's DUI and if it will lead to a suspension (and those first couple games, we could really use him). Anyway, I don't know where I'm going anymore. But i think it's completely reasonable for some to see Niners as SB going into next year.

It seems to me it has been pretty even as to who is the SB fave, if not a bit more for the Seahawks, but we ARE leading the NFL.com popular vote and appears to be un-hacked (33k us to 28k them)And as some have stated there are great reasons for arguing each side including the fact that Kaep will prob be very good if he can mature at an appropriate rate...RW is just b3tter.

KCHawkGirl wrote:Maybe but we will disabuse them and sear 42-13 into their brain permanently.

We are closely matched teams.If we ended up the wildcard,but did this to them again,that would take some of the disappointment out of it.It depends on who gets the lucky bounces,less injuries,and less bonehead calls by the refs.

We do have the talent to take it all,but unfortunately,so do other teams.

So, BlueThunder, why do you think Kaepernick will be worse this year? Why won't he get better in the passing game ? A lot of people really liked that pick coming out of Nevada, and I followed the Wolfpack a bit when I was living in NV, and he was damned good. Most pundits thought he'd make a good pro.

Keep in mind, some folks are predicting a Sophomore slump from Wilson. I personally think it's unlikely due to his godly work ethic and intangibles.

On paper:

Their OL is a lot better than ours.

Their front 7 was better than ours, but they lost Sopoaga and Francois. We gained Avril and Bennett. I know Bennett will succeed in this system, but I really don't know how Avril will do; it's speculation. Their LB corps is better than ours. Sorry, but any combination of Bowman and Willis is better than Wagner/Wright and Random player C. And I think Wagner will improve this year and be close to Willis.

Our secondary is better than theirs. By a lot. Nuff said.

Our skill positions get the slight nod. Lynch is better than Gore at this point of their respective careers. I don't know a ton about their depth, but if Michael puts out half the potential that is being projected, we'll have the best RB depth in the league. I'd give our WRs a big edge now that we have Harvin, and we have a better 2 TE set than they do, although Davis is better than Miller (Miller is a better blocker though).

We have an edge at QB although some people would say it's not much, or not at all. Funny, but neither fan base would trade our QB for theirs and vice versa. The true temper of how much that will be is this year; if both QBs improve, decline, and at what pace.

ST we have the edge.

So add it all up, and I'd say we have the slight edge. For either team to win at the other team's house, the visitor will have to be near perfect...these teams are that close. A couple bad bounces, dropped passes or untimely penalties make either team lose the game. Which team stays the healthiest will probably be the biggest factor although I think we're a deeper team. They probably have as much talent on the bench, but our depth has more experience.

HighlandHawk wrote:Until proven otherwise, the 49ers are the top dogs in the NFC. It's a new season soon and with that we will see, but for now there was only one NFC team in the Super Bowl and it wasn't the Seahawks.

I for one aint going to GIVE them anything resembling respect.New Season, New Slate, everyone starts out with the same # of wins/losses.IF the Seahawks have to "EARN IT", then so do the Whiners, and everyone is gearing up, including the other two teams in our division.Seahawks were in SB XL IN 2005, BUT had to go out and do it all over again in 2006, there's no such thing as a lingering respect.

BlueThunder wrote:to win it all in most polls or discussions I've seen because of the typical, overall anti-Seahawks league sentiment (and pro-49er sentiment), or are the 9ers actually superior to us? I look at both teams, whilst trying to keep my bias neutral (hard, I know), but when I compare us side to side, I just don't see it. I think Kaepernick will be exposed as way overrated, and I just think we're overstacked right now on both sides of the ball in an obvious Super bowl run attempt by our front office. They're going for it, hell be damned! So much will be answered and established in Week 2 at the Clink in the game of games. I think much more will be answered at the end of the season in SF. This season can't frickin' start soon enough! I actually start to physically shake in anticipation of this upcoming season. That hasn't ever happened to me since 1984! Only two months 'till training camp my friends!

FFS, it's not "overall anti-Seahawks league sentiment" for many folks to think that a team that went to the SB last year is a good bet to win a championship. Was it "overall pro-Seahawks league sentiment" when people were ranking the Seahawks as the top team in the league just before the 2006 season?

Absolut is right... while I think we definitely can match up with SF any time and place, they still have one of the best teams in the league, and they added talent this offseason, just like we did. People need to understand that or they're going to be in for a disappointing year when we don't run away with the division crown. This is going to be a battle all season long.

I don't see how people can say Kaepernick is going to be "exposed as way overrated" when he played just as good as Wilson did over the last half of the 49ers season. Maybe the 49ers are more reliant on the read option, and I think Wilson is a better pocket passer than Kaepernick, but Kaepernick is a better athlete. If we've got the advantage at QB, it's in Wilson's preparation and pocket passing.

I don't think anything will be "established" in Week 2 unless one of two things happen: If SF wins, or if we curbstomp them like we did in December. If we get, say, a win by a TD or less, that's just holding serve in my opinion.

If either QB is going to decline it will likely be the read-option going away, their confidence deteriorating during a slump, or their supporting cast worsening down the road thus putting more pressure on the individual. I have absolutely zero concern that RW has the physical tools and mental fortitude to weather any of these situations. Kaep I'm not so sure. If you take away the read-option, RW can survive as a pure pocket passer whereas I'm not as sure that Kaep could. The fact that he is so prone to run upfield (whereas much of RW 'running' is really scrambling and extending the play in order to throw downfield) is reason for me to believe that he's not going through his progressions or seeing open guys. To be fair, this could be a receiver issue. As far as the read-option, for teams to beat it they're going to have to sell out to do it, probably with an 8th man in the box spying the QB which will make either QB's job throwing it much easier.

The other thing that Kaep lacks is the poise of RW. I've never met the guy, but he strikes me as a bit immature and easily rattled when things aren't going his way. I also don't get the vibe of a leader in the interviews I've seen of him. RW's leadership and stoicism do seem a bit forced at times, but I'm a believer in faking it 'til you make it. As a veteran in any career field, you can't fault a young guy trying to be a leader when he's putting in the work that RW by all accounts is putting in.

Trudy Beekman wrote:If either QB is going to decline it will likely be the read-option going away, their confidence deteriorating during a slump, or their supporting cast worsening down the road thus putting more pressure on the individual. I have absolutely zero concern that RW has the physical tools and mental fortitude to weather any of these situations. Kaep I'm not so sure. If you take away the read-option, RW can survive as a pure pocket passer whereas I'm not as sure that Kaep could. The fact that he is so prone to run upfield (whereas much of RW 'running' is really scrambling and extending the play in order to throw downfield) is reason for me to believe that he's not going through his progressions or seeing open guys. To be fair, this could be a receiver issue. As far as the read-option, for teams to beat it they're going to have to sell out to do it, probably with an 8th man in the box spying the QB which will make either QB's job throwing it much easier.

The other thing that Kaep lacks is the poise of RW. I've never met the guy, but he strikes me as a bit immature and easily rattled when things aren't going his way. I also don't get the vibe of a leader in the interviews I've seen of him. RW's leadership and stoicism do seem a bit forced at times, but I'm a believer in faking it 'til you make it. As a veteran in any career field, you can't fault a young guy trying to be a leader when he's putting in the work that RW by all accounts is putting in.

You have my new favorite username. Well done.

Football is not a matter of life and death. It's much more important than that. ~ Bill Shankley

KCHawkGirl wrote:Maybe but we will disabuse them and sear 42-13 into their brain permanently.

We are closely matched teams.If we ended up the wildcard,but did this to them again,that would take some of the disappointment out of it.It depends on who gets the lucky bounces,less injuries,and less bonehead calls by the refs.

We do have the talent to take it all,but unfortunately,so do other teams.

Completely agree I more or less just having some fun with my previous post. I do think we have one advantage they don't...our homefield and we are going to need every bit of it this year because of the schedule. Which I can see us go anywhere from 10-6 to 14-2 just depending how things shake out.

43-8...it's all about that action boss....I'm just here so I won't get fined...

Count me as one of the ones that believes in a chance Kaepernick could be "exposed".

My thought process begins like this: Somewhere, buried in a dark closet of an office at the end of a dark hallway, two defensive assistants and a defensive coordinator have a pot of coffee brewing and a half-eaten box of Crispy Cremes on a table amongst reams of black and white pics and notebooks. They've been told by the HC and the owner that they can't go home until the embarrassment they suffered at the hands of a strange new offense is vanquished.

A worn out whiteboard stands in the corner, and nearly inkless dry-erase markers are scattered around like fly's buzzing a fresh pile of cow duece. Countless X's and O's are scribbled and then rubbed away with the palm of the hand, sweat dripping off foreheads, the mild stench of bad breath floats in the air, an empty package of Red Man is crumpled and tossed into a nearby trashcan. Someone flatulates, no one laughs.

Suddenly, with a steaming cup of Joe hitting the wall across the room, a resounding "we got it!" is heard. Reinvigorated, the team of individuals begin feverishly dialing cell phones and calling downstairs for a new flash drive. A new defensive alignment is conceived which effectively disguises 4 of 5 QB pre-snap reads, and replaces a 300lb interior lineman with a 225lb safety. The new defense is kept secret using death-threats, and is only trotted out with Niners facing a second and 8, late in the fourth qtr of game 9.

Confused and taking a snap to avoid the delay penalty, Kap fakes the handoff, and begins the read option sweep to the right. All receivers are blanketed as the RB is taken out of the play by the DE. Completely surprised, and with no room to take a slide, Kap dives for the turf where he is piled on by no less than three defensive players. In the melee, a fist finds the seeds, and the backup drops the clipboard.

Up in the booth, a brief silence caused by complete confusion is broken up by a loud and urgent barking from Harbaugh in their headsets. "What the hell was that?" He says... "Now we're screwed!".

"...Seattle has become the capital city of the New NFL" - Kip Earlywine Remembering "The Radish"...

Mostly agree with your overall comments, but not buying into that. I didn't see anything last year that would suggest to me that Kraeperpunk is a better athlete. They're both specimens for sure. But if we brought back that old '80's show "SUPERSTARS" and pitted RW and CK against each other, I'd take Russell for the win going away.

On the OP: SF is the team to beat, I have no problem with that. Just makes beating them that much sweeter. No matter who's numero uno, I think most of us fans consider them the number 1 team standing directly in the Hawks path to the division title and super bowl.

What a stupid argument, since when has being a "better athlete" equated to being a better player? There have been tons of players who are "great athletes" who haven't done squat in the NFL. And how many players were considered "too small" or "too slow" etc. and are some of the best of all time. Cam Newton is a great athlete, but is he a great Quarterback? Hell no. Michael Vick is a great athlete, same thing.

I'll go along with SF's the team to beat until they are overthrown, i'll give them that...

But i will not concede they were the better team last season, or are the better team this coming season... we barely lost to them with a rookie QB who was handcuffed and not to mention the recieving problems, and curbstomped them with a experienced rookie QB with a wide open playbook

We barely lost to ATL while missing our top interior line pass rusher and our top DE pass rusher.. we were winning that game with zero pass rush with 30 seconds to go...

Now having said that, SF is a formidable foe no doubt, a very solid well balanced team with a lot of weapons and a young athletic QB... beating them will be no easy task, however same could be said for them about us..

it will come down to QB play and overall team effectiveness.. Coaching schemes and adjustments will play a major role as well.. Not expecting 42-13 again , but I am expecting victories, at least at home...

Last edited by hawker84 on Thu May 09, 2013 6:45 am, edited 2 times in total.

To be the best the Hawks need to beat the best. Last season they were close and the '9ers were thrashed by us in our house, we all have reason to think this will be a better year.

The best part is the team is in the conversation now and looks to be for some time going forward.

Until we develop a pass rush that will cause opposing teams to be forced to scheme to defend it we will never be able to completely take the final step. That was done and the final step was taken. The OLine still needs work.

Hawks46 wrote:I don't see any Seahawk disrespect nationally. Not this year.

So, BlueThunder, why do you think Kaepernick will be worse this year? Why won't he get better in the passing game ? A lot of people really liked that pick coming out of Nevada, and I followed the Wolfpack a bit when I was living in NV, and he was damned good. Most pundits thought he'd make a good pro.

Keep in mind, some folks are predicting a Sophomore slump from Wilson. I personally think it's unlikely due to his godly work ethic and intangibles.

On paper:

Their OL is a lot better than ours.

Their front 7 was better than ours, but they lost Sopoaga and Francois. We gained Avril and Bennett. I know Bennett will succeed in this system, but I really don't know how Avril will do; it's speculation. Their LB corps is better than ours. Sorry, but any combination of Bowman and Willis is better than Wagner/Wright and Random player C. And I think Wagner will improve this year and be close to Willis.

Our secondary is better than theirs. By a lot. Nuff said.

Our skill positions get the slight nod. Lynch is better than Gore at this point of their respective careers. I don't know a ton about their depth, but if Michael puts out half the potential that is being projected, we'll have the best RB depth in the league. I'd give our WRs a big edge now that we have Harvin, and we have a better 2 TE set than they do, although Davis is better than Miller (Miller is a better blocker though).

We have an edge at QB although some people would say it's not much, or not at all. Funny, but neither fan base would trade our QB for theirs and vice versa. The true temper of how much that will be is this year; if both QBs improve, decline, and at what pace.

ST we have the edge.

So add it all up, and I'd say we have the slight edge. For either team to win at the other team's house, the visitor will have to be near perfect...these teams are that close. A couple bad bounces, dropped passes or untimely penalties make either team lose the game. Which team stays the healthiest will probably be the biggest factor although I think we're a deeper team. They probably have as much talent on the bench, but our depth has more experience.

I started reading this thread from the beginning and thought "nobody has talked about their groups". Glad you did - because I basically agree with you.

QB - Edge to SEA - Separation is in the preparation. CK is pretty awesome at what he does - but he was not as complete of a QB as RW was last year. That trend may continue. Front 7 - Edge to SF - no question this might be the top ranked front 7 in football - we have built on paper would could be the best - but we don't know yet. DB's - Edge to SEA - LOB is perhaps the most dominating in a long time in this league. Adding small fry for the slot - he is now an honorary memberOL - Edge to SF - Again, could be rated among the best in the league - we do return the entire unit - probably the first time we have said that ever in our historyRB - Edge to SEA - Beast Mode - plus BEAST DEPTHTE - Push - VD is amazing - but they lost their 2nd on the depth chart. ZM was found in the 2nd half and really showed his valueWR - Edge to SEA - Returning unit plus a new piece is much better than adding brittle-boned dinosaurs to their unit. I don't understand why they have added aging receivers the past few years.ST - Push - I don't see much from either team that tells me one is better than the other.

LudwigsDrummer wrote:Put simply, they (the bad guys) match up just a little better against Atlanta than we do, but we matchup better against SF than Atlanta does.

Yes! Finally I see someone mention matchups on this site. Not everything is an ultimate scenario in football. The Vikings are not a better football team than the 49ers, but they matched up well against us and our weaknesses last season and won. Matchups are everything in football.

A few thoughts. Changing from Alex Smith to Kaep was an enormous change and had DC's starting over in week ten trying to game plan against that change. The league had 18 weeks to figure out Wilson and he only got better and better having his best game the last game he played.

We seen what Wilson did when Lynch was hurt against Atlanta. He put the team on his back and carried them to an almost amazing come from behind victory. Gore turns 30 next week, will he see a decline? What if he gets injured? Can Kaep carry his team? I believe Gore was a much bigger factor in their wins last year.

The Niners are only returning two players that caught passes from Kaep last year. They added Bold in also but everyone knows even if he plays well there, there will still be a learning curve. Right now their depth at receiver is very questionable. Seattle is returning 4 starters at WR and added Harvin.

arguing for football's sake, I really don't know why so many of you think Kap is a first read only, read option reliant, lacking poise type of QB. The only thing I can think of is it is just bias coming through, which is understandable. Kap played 10 games last year, his first 10 games as a pro. I think some people think he is a first read guy bc he has the confidence to to get it into such tight spaces. And often times he did. He made throws that I never thought he could make.

And get off the read option stuff. Thats lazy, and the media helps fuel this misnomer. Sure, he lit up GB on the ground, but there was no read option to speak of against ATL or BAL. He made plays with his arm.

And as for lacking poise, I really don't get this. He won in NE after NE made a furious comeback, won in ATL and almost made the largest super bowl comeback ever. I know you will point to the game in SEA, but the whole team didn't play well that night. Maybe he underestimated the environment, but that will only help him out going forward. Heck, it probably helped him out in the playoffs.

And all the evidence points to him being a football junkie who puts in serious work on his craft. I like RW. That guy proved me wrong last year. I admit it. It sucks he plays for SEA bc I cannot like him now. Kind of like Aikman back in the day.

Either way, I see both teams evenly matched. I wouldn't be surprised if they split this season's matchups. I do think you guys overrate your WRs. I don't see anything special there. In my opinion, Crabtree is better than any of your WRs. But, they 9ers do have questions marks at WR as far as depth. They need somebody to come through this year for sure.

Anyways, its the offseason, and I guess we don't have anything else to argue about yet. Should be a fun year.

I think Kaep gets a bad rap as being one read but he needs to work on his progressions and his poise is not consistent yetDon't try to tell me that you guys beat NE because of himIt was a sloppy game on both sides (fumbles and all) NE just played a sloppier game and STILL almost beat you guysKaep lucked out that his fumbles were recovered by you guys and NE played their sloppiest game in 5 years

RichNhansom wrote:A few thoughts. Changing from Alex Smith to Kaep was an enormous change and had DC's starting over in week ten trying to game plan against that change. The league had 18 weeks to figure out Wilson and he only got better and better having his best game the last game he played.

We seen what Wilson did when Lynch was hurt against Atlanta. He put the team on his back and carried them to an almost amazing come from behind victory. Gore turns 30 next week, will he see a decline? What if he gets injured? Can Kaep carry his team? I believe Gore was a much bigger factor in their wins last year.

The Niners are only returning two players that caught passes from Kaep last year. They added Bold in also but everyone knows even if he plays well there, there will still be a learning curve. Right now their depth at receiver is very questionable. Seattle is returning 4 starters at WR and added Harvin.

Kind of a pointless argument of a thread, but I can see by your replies that perhaps you guys now understand how being a "Paper Champion" is pointless.

(See Bold)However according to you guys, PC kept the full playbook under lock and key away from RW until about week 10, when according to you guys he "emerged" as a totally different QB. So by your own words in multiple threads across this MB, RW caused DC's to start over around week 10 as well.

DISCLAIMER:

The trash talking that I do occasionally this week is strictly for gamesmanship between opposing fanbases as a result of our upcoming matchup this week on SNF. It by no means should be taken personally.

nsport wrote:I started reading this thread from the beginning and thought "nobody has talked about their groups". Glad you did - because I basically agree with you.

QB - Edge to SEA - Separation is in the preparation. CK is pretty awesome at what he does - but he was not as complete of a QB as RW was last year. That trend may continue. Front 7 - Edge to SF - no question this might be the top ranked front 7 in football - we have built on paper would could be the best - but we don't know yet. DB's - Edge to SEA - LOB is perhaps the most dominating in a long time in this league. Adding small fry for the slot - he is now an honorary memberOL - Edge to SF - Again, could be rated among the best in the league - we do return the entire unit - probably the first time we have said that ever in our historyRB - Edge to SEA - Beast Mode - plus BEAST DEPTHTE - Push - VD is amazing - but they lost their 2nd on the depth chart. ZM was found in the 2nd half and really showed his valueWR - Edge to SEA - Returning unit plus a new piece is much better than adding brittle-boned dinosaurs to their unit. I don't understand why they have added aging receivers the past few years.ST - Push - I don't see much from either team that tells me one is better than the other.

One thing I'd have to completely disagree with Volsung, and that is, Kaepernick is NOT, a better athlete than Russell Wilson, Taller?, yepbut that doesn't translate to "Better Athlete" by any stretch of the imagination.Wilson is a more polished/complete Quarterback, that is clearly the superior savvy football player that gets it done doing it ALL in a 5'-11" frame.Wilson has the ability to make adjustments in his play, because of his preparation, and constant vigil to changes in the field of play, THAT'S what Chuck Gruden was talking about when he gushed all about RW.Other than that?, I pretty much agree with you nsports on your assessments between the two teams. I think people are not giving enough notice to the sneak up from behind Rams, and Cardinals though.It's not going to be a two horse race in the NFC WEST for too much longer.

BlueThunder wrote:to win it all in most polls or discussions I've seen because of the typical, overall anti-Seahawks league sentiment (and pro-49er sentiment), or are the 9ers actually superior to us? I look at both teams, whilst trying to keep my bias neutral (hard, I know), but when I compare us side to side, I just don't see it. I think Kaepernick will be exposed as way overrated, and I just think we're overstacked right now on both sides of the ball in an obvious Super bowl run attempt by our front office. They're going for it, hell be damned! So much will be answered and established in Week 2 at the Clink in the game of games. I think much more will be answered at the end of the season in SF. This season can't frickin' start soon enough! I actually start to physically shake in anticipation of this upcoming season. That hasn't ever happened to me since 1984! Only two months 'till training camp my friends!

To be honest, I don't see this anti-Seahawk bias you are talking about.

For a long time I'd agree with you that most of the NFl disregarded them, but they are getting a TON of pub lately (deservedly so) and have become media darlings.

Hawks46 wrote:I don't see any Seahawk disrespect nationally. Not this year.

So, BlueThunder, why do you think Kaepernick will be worse this year? Why won't he get better in the passing game ? A lot of people really liked that pick coming out of Nevada, and I followed the Wolfpack a bit when I was living in NV, and he was damned good. Most pundits thought he'd make a good pro.

Keep in mind, some folks are predicting a Sophomore slump from Wilson. I personally think it's unlikely due to his godly work ethic and intangibles.

On paper:

Their OL is a lot better than ours.

Their front 7 was better than ours, but they lost Sopoaga and Francois. We gained Avril and Bennett. I know Bennett will succeed in this system, but I really don't know how Avril will do; it's speculation. Their LB corps is better than ours. Sorry, but any combination of Bowman and Willis is better than Wagner/Wright and Random player C. And I think Wagner will improve this year and be close to Willis.

Our secondary is better than theirs. By a lot. Nuff said.

Our skill positions get the slight nod. Lynch is better than Gore at this point of their respective careers. I don't know a ton about their depth, but if Michael puts out half the potential that is being projected, we'll have the best RB depth in the league. I'd give our WRs a big edge now that we have Harvin, and we have a better 2 TE set than they do, although Davis is better than Miller (Miller is a better blocker though).

We have an edge at QB although some people would say it's not much, or not at all. Funny, but neither fan base would trade our QB for theirs and vice versa. The true temper of how much that will be is this year; if both QBs improve, decline, and at what pace.

ST we have the edge.

So add it all up, and I'd say we have the slight edge. For either team to win at the other team's house, the visitor will have to be near perfect...these teams are that close. A couple bad bounces, dropped passes or untimely penalties make either team lose the game. Which team stays the healthiest will probably be the biggest factor although I think we're a deeper team. They probably have as much talent on the bench, but our depth has more experience.

Agree and disagree with segments of this...

1) Niners loast Sopoaga and Francois, but niether was that big a loss. Sopoaga was one of the worst rated DTs in the NFL last year according to PFF. Dorsey to me is an improvement there and I don't mean if he can be what he was at LSU. He'll never be that....but what he was at KC was a really good run-stuffer. Thats what he'll be called on do do here. He also had issues in KC because he was called upon to 2-gap. In the Niners 3-4, he won't be asked to do that. Tank Carradine is a huge upgrade over RJF and Dial is interesting. Another one of their front 7 weaknesses last year was depth at OLB when Parys Haralson, Darius Fleming, and Cameron Johnson were all injured. They has zero quality depth there. Thats where Corey lemier comes in. They also get all three of thos guys back.

2) I like Wagner at MLB, but I don't think he'll ever be close to Willis. That has more to do with my opinion of Willis tho than my opinion of Wagner. Bowman and Willis play in a 3-4, so their tackle stats get deluded and they more often have to take on linemen. Wagner is really good...don't get me wrong....but I think Willis and Bowman are just ridiculous.

3) No arguement on the secondary. Niners secondary better than they showed in the Playoffs (at corner anyway), but Goldson and Whitner were highly overrated. I wasn't all that upset to see Goldson go. I'm hoping Reid can be a better coverage safety than Goldson was.

4) At the skill positions.....I'd agree that Lynch is better than Gore at this point of his career. Lynch is still a monster and Gore is getting close to the end. Your depth issue is where it falls apart a bit tho. Niners are incredibly deep at RB. Behind Gore they have Kendall Hunter and LaMichael James. Kendall Was averaging 5.2 yards per carry when he got hurt and James averaged 4.6 in the regular season and 5.9 in the playoffs. Both were hugely productive college backs and are very good. They also drafted Marcus Lattimore but we probably won't see him till next year.

At WR...debatable. Crabtree really cominginto his own. Boldin a great #2. I like AJ Jenkins bouncing back this year and I like Patton in the draft. They'll also get Manningham and Williams back from innjury. Harvin is a good player, but I'm not all that worried about the other guys. I've never been a fan of Sidney Rice.

AT TE....I'm not sure where you get the idea that Miller is a better blocker than Davis since Davis is one of the best blocking TEs in the NFL. I do agree tho that losing Delanie Walker may swing this position group toward the Seahawks. I like the Niners 2nd rounder (Vance McDonald), but we'll just have to see how he develops.

I agree with your final statement. These teams are really close to each other. While peeps on here love to sing the paraises of Wilson and his work ethic, it's not like Kaep is kickin' it at home eating Ice Cream. Both of these kids work their a$$es off and thats a sign that this rivalry is gonna go on for some time.

Depth is certainly an issue. The 49ers lack of depth in the front 7 got exposed when Aldon and Justin both got hurt. There was nobody there to step in and was an emphasis in the draft. We'll just have to see how those players turn out.

dunceface wrote:I think Kaep gets a bad rap as being one read but he needs to work on his progressions and his poise is not consistent yetDon't try to tell me that you guys beat NE because of himIt was a sloppy game on both sides (fumbles and all) NE just played a sloppier game and STILL almost beat you guysKaep lucked out that his fumbles were recovered by you guys and NE played their sloppiest game in 5 years

Well...we might think that because despite his issues handling the ball in that wet, cold weather....

...he also threw 4 TDs and had a 108.5 QB rating.

Seriously? Your going to just discount the win in NE? Come on now...lets be reasonable.